


Two of Us (Cas)

by FunkyTown67_RH



Series: Two of Us [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angelic Grace, Australia, Canon Related, Dean Hates Witches, Dean's Soul, Dr. Sexy - Freeform, FBI Agent Castiel, FBI Agent Dean, FBI Agent Dean Winchester, Flying, Grace Sharing, Gun Violence, Holding Hands, Homosexuality, Hunters & Hunting, Immortality, Impala, Kissing, M/M, Mind Meld, Murder, POV Castiel, Police, References to the Beatles, Rituals, Unrequited Love, Werewolves, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 11:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8160265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyTown67_RH/pseuds/FunkyTown67_RH
Summary: Dean and Cas go on a hunt together... just the two of them.Inspired by the song Two of Us by The Beatles





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to Two of Us by the Beatles and this popped into my head, fully formed. See how many references to the song lyrics you can find! (and bonus points to anyone who can find the Dr. Sexy reference... its VERY hidden)  
> EDIT 10/2: Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know that I made a Tumblr where I'll be posting new works and new chapters. Go check it out! I'm funkytown67rh. Thanks!

Inspired by _Two of Us_ by The Beatles     

 

    When one of Dean’s contacts called, alerting them of a sudden rise in local deaths caused by violent removal of the heart, Cas knew that Dean would soon be heading to Missouri to find and kill a werewolf. He hardly ever went with Sam and Dean when they went on a hunt. They were a team and he just felt that he was the awkward side angel who didn’t know how to act human and got in everyone’s way. So when Dean yelled his name from within the bunker, Cas did not expect to be invited.

    “Cas! Get your feathered ass in here.” Dean yelled.

    Cas flew over in an instant. He would always come when Dean called, no matter how rudely. Cas spoke, “Hello, Dean. What is it you want?”

    “You’re coming with me on this hunt. I could probably take it alone, but hunts have a way of surprising you and it’s always best to work in pairs...” Dean rushed out the last sentence and seemed to force himself to stop.

    Cas tilted his head in confusion, “What about Sam? Is he not coming?”

    “He’s still got that busted leg from that damned shifter. He’s still on crutches. I’m not gonna let him hunt a werewolf.” Cas wondered if Sam had been part of this decision. The way Dean was rushing through packing a few shotguns told him that the answer to that was probably no.

    “And you consider me to be an acceptable replacement?” Cas always felt that somewhere Dean didn’t want him as a partner. That he saw Castiel as more of a burden than a help when it came to non-Heavenly matters.

    Dean snorted, “What sort of question is that? Course you are Cas.” The way he said it so casually, as if it was utterly obvious warmed Cas’s heart. Dean may never know of or reciprocate Cas’s love, but Cas knew that Dean did care for him in some degree. That was enough.

    “Are we leaving now?” Cas was actually excited about this. One on one time with Dean didn’t happen that often. Now they were driving all the way to Missouri and back. And Cas could sit shotgun.

    “Yes. Before Sam wakes up. He’ll make a big fuss about not coming and pull out the puppy eyes and I don’t want to have to take that today.” Suspicions confirmed. Dean had not discussed this with Sam. Dean slung the bag full of shotguns and knives over his back, “Let’s go.” Dean strode out of the room.

    Cas followed on foot. He could just fly to the Impala, but walking with Dean was so much nicer. When they got to the car, Dean threw the bag into the trunk, as if it actually needed more weapons, and then settled into the driver’s seat. Cas looked through the open car door at the seat waiting for him. The _front_ passenger seat. Cas sat down gingerly. The few other times he had sat here he hadn’t really felt this way, like it was position of honor to be allowed to ride shotgun.

    Dean cranked the engine and the Impala purred to life. He rubbed the steering wheel, smiling, “I know, it’s been too long, Baby.” Dean’s face was lit with a smile as he looked forward to driving his Baby. Was it wrong for Cas to be jealous of a car? Probably, yes. That didn’t change what Cas was feeling. Dean Winchester had managed to trigger Cas into doing a lot of things that he would have previously considered wrong. Rebelling against Heaven? Check. Killing his brothers and sisters? Check. Falling in love with a human? Check.

    Dean stopped once during the seven hour drive to pick up some pie at one of his favourite places they just happened to be passing. He offered Cas a slice, who refused even though he found the gesture endearing. It would have just tasted like molecules. The rest of the trip, Dean was singing along to his tapes or making jokes and laughing whether or not Cas understood them. Cas didn’t care. Watching Dean laugh and be happy was worth the confusion most of those jokes generated.

    Sometimes Dean would ask Cas’s opinion on something and Cas would very seriously and thoroughly respond even if he knew or understood very little of the subject. He didn’t want Dean to think that this trip or their relationship was only about hunting. Depending on what he said, sometimes Dean would crack a smile or laugh. No matter how Cas responded, Dean’s focus would be riveted on him and Cas had felt the need to remind Dean that looking at the road was a necessary safety precaution more than once.

    By the time they exited the Impala in the small town in Missouri, Dean seemed to have stiffened up and was obviously uncomfortable. Cas let a ribbon of his grace reach out and fix Dean’s stiff joints and muscles. Cas shivered. He silently berated himself, pointedly ignoring how good that small touch had felt. He tried not to allow his grace to come too close to Dean’s soul more often than was necessary, but he had found himself subconsciously reaching out more and more often to help Dean with insignificant things, like discomfort from a long car ride.

    “We have some time before I need to book a hotel room. You wanna start at the station and get access to the morgue?” Dean looked at Castiel.

    “Studying the corpses of the deceased would seem a logical first step.” Cas replied. He desperately wanted to prove that he could do this. Maybe if he did well, Dean would want to bring him along more often, even when Sam could make it.

    Dean’s lips quirked up in a smile, “Ok, Cas. Let’s do this.” Dean grabbed his suit out of the back seat and popped into the gas station bathroom. He emerged soon after, straightening his red tie. Cas frowned. He had heard plenty of females comment on how good Dean looked in a suit. Cas didn’t get it. To him, Dean just looked slightly uncomfortable and not like _Dean._

         Dean sat back down in the driver’s seat and dug around for a bit. He victoriously raised two fake IDs. They were both FBI. Cas tilted his head, confused. Why would Dean need two of the same type? Then Dean handed Cas one saying, “Just flash this and let me do all the talking.” Cas looked inside and saw the name _Stephen Bacic._ Next to the name he saw his picture. When had Dean made this? He must have been planning for Cas to work a case with him well before this call came in.

    “Thank you.” Cas said. _Thank you for including me. Thank you for not just using me as a tool like Heaven did. Thank you for caring._

    “No problem. Come on.” Dean said, seeming very pleased with himself.  Cas dropped back into the Impala and they drove off to the station. When they walked up to the front desk, Dean oozed confidence, “Hello, Ma’am. Agents Harker and Bacic. We’re here to take over the investigation of the recent… unusual deaths.” He flashed a grin along with his fake badge.  Cas quickly raised his ID as well. The female officer at the front desk squinted at them for a moment before sitting back and reaching for a file. Dean put his badge away and Cas copied him.

    “I hope you had better training than we did. We can’t make heads nor tails of this case. Whoever is doing this doesn’t leave a speck of forensic evidence. Ever.” The officer, whose name tag indicated her name was Katherine Rose, handed the file over. Dean opened it and made a show of studying the facts.

    “And you’re sure this was a who? These wounds look like they could have been inflicted by an animal.” Dean looked up.

    “Every victim has a symbol carved into their ribcage where it was exposed by the removal of the heart.” Officer Rose looked like she felt sick just thinking about it, “Also, next to each victim was a pile of.. flesh scraps. It seems that while they somehow ripped the heart out with animalistic ruthlessness, they spent time cleaning the excess tissue off of the heart.”

   Dean looked at Cas. _Not werewolf_ his face said. Cas agreed. It was most likely witches. Cas knew how Dean felt about witches and hoped that he was wrong.

    “Could we see the bodies?” Dean said nonchalantly.

    “Of course. Follow me.” Officer Rose led them through the station to the back and though a locked door labeled 'Morgue'. She opened four drawers and pulled out the sliding tables inside them. On each was a body covered in a white cloth.

    Officer Rose brought the back of her hand up to her nose, “I hope you don’t mind if I just head back. I saw this once and that was one time too many.”

    Dean gave her an understanding smile, “Of course. We’ll clean up and be out of your hair in no time.” She hurried out the door. Cas briefly wondered if she was perhaps not in the correct field if she was that squeamish. These thoughts were cut short when Dean lifted the first cloth.

    “The pictures do not do it justice.” Dean looked impressed, but disgusted, with how savagely the heart had been ripped out, “It says in the report that the hearts were removed while they were still alive. Must have been brutal.” They looked under the three other cloths and found a similar ragged hole in each chest. Cas inspected the sigils on each rib. They were not the same, but obviously all part of the same spell and Cas was pretty sure he knew what spell.

    “These sigils weave together to form a spell of immortality. However, one sigil is still missing…” Cas began.

    “...and so there’s going to be one more kill,” Dean finished, “Well, we’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen. So it’s witches, huh?” Cas nodded gravely. Dean pursed his lips, “Freakin’ fantastic. Just what I needed.”

    “It’s probably one witch acting alone, not a whole coven.” Cas wanted to make it better for Dean.

    “Well that’s the first and only piece of good news. You can kill witches with your mojo, right Cas?” Dean covered up the last body and turned to Cas. Cas thought about the ragged, bloody hole which must have been made by superhuman strength.  

    “Most likely. I won’t know what wards this witch has protecting themselves until I face them. Judging by the complicated spellwork and the strength necessary to do that,” he gestured vaguely to the covered bodies,"this witch is very powerful.”

    Dean closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he was staring straight at Cas. Cas stared right back as he always did, unable to look away from the brilliant, twisting facets of Dean’s soul he could glimpse through his green eyes. Suddenly, Dean spoke and broke the moment.

    “So, Cas. Let’s put that computer of a brain to good use. You can read through these files and see if you find any connection between the victims. I’m gonna check out the crime scenes.” Dean started pushing the sliding tables back into the drawers. Cas blinked hard. Interacting with Dean could be very confusing. One moment they’re staring into each other’s eyes and all feels right with the world and the next Dean is barking orders.

    Cas almost flew straight to the nearest hotel to read through the files and wait for Dean in the lobby, but remembered that Officer Rose should see them both leave. He walked with Dean all the way to the Impala, not looking forward to being alone. He had spent too much of his long, long life alone. If it was his choice, he’d spend every moment next to Dean.

    As Dean opened the door to the Impala and climbed in, Cas took a step back,"Be safe, Dean.”

    Dean glanced up in confusion, “Where are you going?”

    “You told me to read the file.” Castiel slightly raised the file folder in his hand and then let it drop again.

    “I didn’t tell you to read it by yourself, sitting alone on some park bench waiting for me to come back. Hop in.” Dean shook his head and gestured to the passenger’s seat. He shut the car door. Cas flew into the car rather than taking the time to walk. Maybe he could fool himself for today that Dean wanted him around as much as he wanted to be around Dean.

    It took no time at all to get the nearest crime scene but Cas had already finished reading about the complicated life and death of the first victim, Abby Delwin, who was an overachieving college student. When Dean pulled into the pawn shop parking lot where Abby had died, Cas put the file off to the side. They were in the middle of the city. There was absolutely no way nothing had been caught on any of the many cameras.

    “No evidence my ass.” Dean looked at all the cameras just like Cas was, “Okay, Cas. Can you handle half of these shops? Just go in, say ‘Good evening. Agent Bacic’, flash your badge, and demand, _gently_ at first, to see their video footage from…” Dean reached for the file, but Cas easily provided the date from memory.

    “This is why we have you read the file.” Dean laughed and brought his hand down on Cas’s shoulder. Cas went stiff and tried not to react to the slight brush of Dean’s soul against his grace. It wasn’t as intense as when Cas actually reached out with his grace as he had that afternoon, but it still took a bit of an effort not to immediately pull Dean’s hand back when he removed it a second later.

    “What do you say I take the ones on the left and you take the ones on the right,” Dean clearly designated sections with both hands as he spoke.

    “That’s perfectly fine.” Cas could do this. Dean was trusting him to do this job. He had been getting better with human relations. Now it was time to put that to the test.

    “Okey dokey. Let’s get this done.” Dean hopped out of the car and strode off to his first target.

 

    When Cas finished with his half, he was frustrated and dusty. Apparently walking in on Mrs. Gierson cleaning had been an offence punishable by a thorough beating with her feather duster. That is until she saw the badge Cas held up and immediately relented and began to apologize profusely. She explained that she thought she had locked the door and therefore believed him to be a burglar. Cas had assured her that was not the case.

    After she calmed down, she had been more than happy to show him the video footage. It just so happened that her electricity had gone out right before the estimated time of death and she hadn’t gotten it back on until the next day. Cas had pointed out that the camera was battery operated. The woman shrugged, obviously very obtuse about technology, and said that it had gone out just like everything else. Cas insisted on watching the video anyway. It had just gone black and then skipped four hours. Cas found the same thing at all the businesses he visited. He insisted on watching every video and there was always that four-hour gap.

     Dean had finished before him and was skimming the case file while waiting for him in the Impala. One look at his face told Cas that he had found the same thing. He asked anyway.

    “Did you find any useful information?” Cas sat down in the passenger’s seat as he spoke.

    Dean looked up, “Not remotely. All the tapes had this four-hour gap. Like the electricity ran out. Except half of them ran on batteries.”

    Cas nodded, “I found the same.”

    “Dude, what's with the dust? Did you get attacked by a broom?” Dean scanned up and down his body which made Cas feel the need to blush. He suppressed the blood from rising to his face and responded.

    “A feather duster actually. Mrs. Gierson believed me to be a burglar.” Cas sighed. He heard a snort from Dean and looked over at him. Apparently that sent Dean over the edge and he couldn’t contain the laughter anymore. Cas didn’t see what was remotely amusing about a paranoid old lady, but was glad he had made Dean laugh.

    “So..” Dean struggled for a moment, but managed to regain composure, “spellcraft? Something else?”

    “Spellwork is most likely. If we find the same blank spot at the other three crime scenes, and it is exactly four hours, that will confirm it. If it's not the same amount of time, we’ll have to start from scratch. It may be some creature with a particularly strong electrical signal.”

 

  It was 9 pm and Dean had decided that the last crime scene could wait for tomorrow. Most people were more willing to comply during daylight hours anyway. All three crime scenes they had visited so far had that exact four-hour gap and neither of them truly expected to find anything new at the last crime scene.

    Cas followed Dean into the hotel. Actually, motel was a better description. As long as Dean was spending someone else’s hard-earned money through credit card fraud, Cas didn’t know why he didn’t go for something a bit more sanitary. When Dean walked up to the counter, the young man behind it flicked his gaze between the two of them, “One bed or two?” he asked.

    “One,” Dean responded and Castiel’s pulse jumped as the man’s eyebrows lifted. Cas had a moment of extremely mixed emotions before he remembered that he didn’t sleep and therefore wouldn’t need a bed and would definitely NOT be sharing the bed with Dean.

    Dean paid and the man continued to give them strange looks. Cas really wished he would stop. It just heightened his embarrassment at his momentary assumption. When they finally had their room key and were out of earshot Cas said, “Dean, that man thought we were together.”

    “Yeah, I know. I don’t really care what he thinks. We only need one bed and I might as well save the money.” Dean had reached room 4111 and was sliding the card quickly in and then out of the slot. Cas was still uncomfortable and resisted the urge to fidget. Since when had he had all these very human reactions?

    Dean threw his bag on the bed, opened it, and removed the clothing he had changed out of earlier that day. He disappeared into the bathroom and Cas heard the water begin to run. Dean would be a while if there was hot water. After fifteen minutes Cas felt it was safe to assume that the water was a decent temperature. He sat at the small, uneven table. There were a few well-worn pamphlets advertising what there was to do in the town. Cas pulled a few out and flipped through them to occupy himself.

    One of these contained a rough map of the city. Cas’s eyes searched out the crime scenes they had been to. Wait. There was a pattern. Cas grabbed a pen and marked out the five points so Dean could understand what Cas had seen. Four of the points were the four crime scenes. The fifth one was the one point necessary to form the points into the tips of a pentagram. Cas calculated the exact center of the star and marked it on the map. It was a blank area, so he assumed it was residential. That made sense. The witch would want to focus the ritual’s power on their place of residence.

    Cas needed a better map to pinpoint the exact house. Of course, he could just calculate the location in his head, fly there, and see the address. He didn’t want to leave Dean out though. He dithered for a moment before flying to the location, reading the address and flying back. He wrote the address on the pamphlet map. Then he sat there and waited for Dean.

    When Dean finally came out of the shower, he was dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing that morning. If Sam had been here, he would have yelled at Dean about being civilized. Cas wore the same clothes every day. He didn’t mind if Dean did as well.

    “Dean. I know where the witch lives.” Dean stopped mid-stride and turned to look at Cas.

    “How…” Dean shook his head, “Where?”

    “I can take you now.” Cas offered, hoping Dean would agree. He loved flying with Dean.

    “Umm, no. I’m gonna avoid that unless it’s completely necessary.”

    Cas hid his disappointment and brought out the map. Dean stared at it for a moment and then set it down,"Okay. We have to go tonight. We don’t know when this witch is planning to steal her next heart.” Dean smirked a bit at his own joke despite the morbid reality.

    Dean picked the bag up off the bed and headed out to the Impala. Cas followed, thinking how much faster flying would be. When they were both in the car, Dean turned on his music and followed Cas’s directions. Cas watched Dean’s face in the dark. As they got closer to the house, Dean’s face hardened and by the time they found themselves parked a few houses down from the witch Dean’s face was a perfect hunter’s mask. Cas understood the defense mechanism, but preferred when Dean was relaxed and enjoying something simple.

    They approached the house from the left. Dean motioned with the gun his hands were wrapped around and entered the backyard through a poorly constructed fence. Cas let his grace extend towards the house to scan for life, carefully avoiding the bright spot of Dean’s soul. It encountered a wall of energy encircling the house. He pushed slightly, expecting it to buckle. It didn’t and he had to push harder… and harder again before he finally penetrated it. He sensed quite a few animals of various species and one female human… or was it human? It was hard to tell due to the web of magic encircling her. Cas deduced that the woman was the witch and therefore probably human.

    By this point, he and Dean had made it to the back door and Dean was lifting the latch. As the door swung open, Dean swore softly, “Damnit! I forgot my flashlight in the car. You got a light Cas?”

    Castiel could see perfectly fine, but he knew Dean needed to see as well. He dug around in his numerous coat pocket until he found something similar to what Dean needed. He tore a match out of the matchbook and lit it. As it burned down, he could see Dean scanning what little of the room he could see in the dim light. The flame reached his fingers and the match went out. He struck another one and he and Dean walked through the cluttered room.

    Cas moved very close to Dean to whisper in his ear, “She’s in the first bedroom on the left.” His heart was pounding a little faster as Cas quickly drew himself away from Dean. _Don’t touch Dean._ That was one of Cas’s rules for himself. Not that he always listened to them as well as he should.

    Dean moved to the left and stopped when the second match burnt out. Cas was ready to light the third one and Dean started walking again as soon as it illuminated his path. Dean approached the door the witch was behind and slowly began to turn the knob. Cas’s grace twitched with the urge to wrap Dean in a protective layer. The door was open and Dean let it swing inwards. The third match went out. Cas looked down to light the fourth match. When he looked back up mere moments later, the witch was standing less than a foot in front of him. Dean was still looking into the now empty room, unaware anything had changed. The witch held her forefinger up to her lips in a shushing gesture.

    “Cas, you out of matches?” Dean’s soft whisper broke the silence.

    “Yes, Dean. You know it’s a funky town when you can’t even find your own matches.” Cas’s voice was even as he gave Dean the code word he knew he used with Sam. His eyes never left the witch’s. Now that she was awake, he could feel the full extent of her power and knew that she was older than some ancient cultures. Why she was creating a spell for immortality, he didn’t know. He did know that his grace alone wouldn’t kill her.

    “Okay, Cas. I’m just gonna stand right here for now then. Unless you need me to move?” Dean continued to whisper even though he probably realized that the witch was awake now.

    “You’re good, Dean. I’ll go find more.” Cas’s grace reached out and grabbed the witch. Before she could react, Cas had flown them to the center of the Outback. And that was the extent of his plan: get the witch away from Dean. He quickly retracted his grace and watched as the witch took in her surroundings. She was beautiful, but in a feral, dangerous way. Her olive skin and ebony hair stood out against the bright, empty sky.

    “Why are an angel and his pet hunting me?” The witch spoke with an accent borrowed from some long forgotten language. If Cas focused, he could probably identify it. However, he had much better things to focus on.

    “You were killing people. Our job is to stop people and things like you.” Cas said, slowly prodding at the witches wards with his grace. He didn’t find any openings.

    “It is what I have always done. They are nothing compared to us, Castiel.” Cas hid his surprise at her knowledge of his name, “We have memories that span eons. They are specks in the timeline.”

    Cas tried to imagine Dean as an insignificant speck for a moment, but it was impossible. Dean was such an important part of his life. He couldn’t imagine existence without him anymore. Sam wasn’t insignificant either. Or Charlie, or Kevin, or any human being ever. Every one of them had a role to play.

    “I’m afraid I must disagree.” Cas said, hoping this didn’t anger her. He didn’t believe she could kill him, but she could do some serious damage.

    “Well, we’ll just have to ask your human pet what he has to say, won’t we?” The witch snapped her fingers and Cas’s stomach lurched and the world turned upside down, then sideways, and then some directions he didn’t know how to name. Cas would never criticize Dean for not wanting to fly with him ever again. Suddenly, they were back in the house. Cas frowned in confusion. How had she reversed his flight?

   Dean, who was in the living room now, squinted at the sudden light that flared to life as the witch flipped a light switch. That mundane action seemed at odds with her entire personality. She must not use magic for things she could easily do without its help. This gave Cas an idea and he immediately began to test it by weaving his grace in and out of the witch’s wards. If he made her focus on keeping a large threat out, something mundane might be able to slip through. He was right!

    The witch was approaching Dean and Dean was raising his gun to shoot. Nothing good would come from that right now. “No!” Cas shouted at him and Dean looked at him in surprise, raising his eyebrows to ask if Cas meant him. Cas sent him a minute nod and then switched his attention to the witch who was also looking at him, smirking.

    “See, he is just a pet. Listens to his master.” The witch turned around fluidly and walked towards Cas, away from Dean. For his plan to work, he needed to communicate with Dean without the witch hearing. He would have to break one of his rules. In fact, it was THE rule when it came to Dean. _Don’t invade his mind._ That involved some serious grace/soul interaction and it was an invasion of privacy Dean would abhore.

    “You piss me off.” Cas said, borrowing the sentence from Dean. The witch seemed amused, but kept advancing. That was fine. It was what Cas wanted. Cas reached out tentatively with his grace to touch Dean’s mind. As soon as he made contact, he could feel Dean’s brilliant soul soaking into his grace. The only other time he’d been this close to Dean’s soul was when he had been rescuing him from Hell. And that time he hadn’t felt the way he did now. It was a little bit hard for him to concentrate on communication when all he wanted to do was bask in that feeling of _Dean._

    “Do I now? How would that be?” The witch was almost touching him by now. Cas forced himself to focus. He managed to send Dean’s mind the words _When I tell you, shoot her in the head._ Cas could only hope that they had been in English.

    “You won’t die easily.” Cas bared his teeth and flung his full smiting power at the witch. She was forced back a few steps, but none of his power actually touched her. It just streamed around her wards and dissipated. Cas kept a careful eye on her wards and when they were at full power to block him, he sent Dean the go ahead.

    The shot echoed loudly in the room and Castiel watched in slow motion as the bullet exploded out of the gun, passed through the witch’s temple, and buried itself in his own chest. He had been spread too thin between Dean's mind and the witch to stop it. He would just fix his vessel later. The witch collapsed and Cas fell to his knees and closed his eyes.

    He was so drained. His grace was entirely saturated in Dean’s soul and his power was so low from throwing it all at the witch. He heard Dean’s gun clatter to the ground. Suddenly, Dean was kneeling in front of him and Dean’s hands were cupping his face. Cas was vaguely aware that Dean was calling his name and repeatedly apologizing for shooting him. The majority of Cas’s focus was on how drunk of off Dean’s soul he was. He had no idea how he’d go back to denying himself. But then his mind cleared enough for him to realize that he was still in Dean’s mind.

    Cas felt Dean’s worry, regret, adrenaline, and… love. Dean’s mind was overflowing with love for Cas. Cas opened his eyes and looked into Dean’s green ones. He allowed himself to stare at the gorgeous soul which was wrapped around his grace. He felt Dean’s relief that he had at least opened his eyes.  Then Cas smiled, larger than he had in thousands of years, “You love me.” Dean froze, not a muscle moved. Cas’s brain caught up with his mouth and he kicked himself. Not even being drunk on Dean excused that.

    Dean’s mind had frozen along with his body and remained that way for a moment before roaring back to life. Cas almost pulled his grace away to avoid feeling Dean’s reaction, but he didn’t even know if he was capable of that anymore. But his reaction was not the outrage or pulling away that Cas had expected. At first, confusion, then worry for Cas, then the realization that Cas could still hear his thoughts, then fear of rejection, and finally an overwhelming joy as he processed Cas’s smile.

    Still holding Cas’s face, Dean surged forward and pressed his lips to Cas’s. The contact paired with the entanglement of his grace and Dean’s soul were enough to make Cas forget where and who he was. His hands came up to grip the back of Dean’s head and he kissed him back with a passion that had been building for years.

    When they parted so Dean could breathe, Dean attempted to talk, “Cas..

    Cas made a shushing noise and pulled Dean back in for another kiss. Dean obviously had no idea what Cas was going through in the grace department. While they were kissing, Dean’s soul glowed brighter and curled itself around and through and into Cas’s grace. It was the most perfect thing Cas had ever seen or felt.

    Eventually, Cas realized they had to stop. He pulled away and stood up. Dean followed suit, but his knees screamed at him for being on the ground so long. Cas instantly fixed that. A frown passed over Dean’s face and he reached out to touch Cas’s chest. Cas looked down and was surprised by the blood covering his front. He had forgotten that he'd been shot. He didn’t have that much energy left, but the wound was obviously concerning Dean, so Cas flicked some grace at it to fix it. The bullet made a small sound as it hit the ground. A different type of worry passed through Dean’s mind.

    “Cas, um, what does this..” Dean paused and flapped a hand in between them, “..mean? I.. what happens next?” Cas had answer for that and an answer for what happens a decade from now and what happens a thousand years from now. He would never leave Dean, whether Dean was dead or alive.

    “We go back to the hotel room, you sleep and I recover.” Cas avoided what he was sure Dean would refer to as a ‘chick flick’ moment. Dean looked at Cas with a pissed expression.

    “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Dean glared at him, but was all amusement on the inside. With a jerk, Cas realized he was still inside of Dean’s mind. Reluctantly he separated from his mind, but refused to pull his grace away.

    “What do you want, Dean? You just saw what I want. But if that made you uncomfortable, I would never mention it again.” Cas was mostly sure that Dean was more than okay with what just happened, especially considering he had initiated it. But Cas also didn’t remember Dean ever expressing interest in males. And Castiel was in a male vessel.  

    “I want you, Cas. I don’t want you to leave, ever again.” Dean leaned his forehead against Cas’s. Cas moved their heads so he could kiss Dean again. This time it was short and sweet and sent a shiver down Cas’s spine.

    “I was never planning to leave. Ever.” Cas stared into Dean’s eyes and tried to convey just how serious he was. Dean’s grin was enormous and the sparkling in his soul was blinding. Cas curled his grace tighter around Dean. Then Dean chuckled. He explained after a questioning head tilt from Cas who was already regretting removing himself from Dean’s mind.

    “Sam’s gonna freak. I don’t know what he’s gonna think.” Dean smirked, obviously not too worried.

    “Well, it’s just the two of us for right now.” Cas smiled at Dean.

    “Mmm. You’re right.” Dean’s lips brushed Cas’s before kissing him again. Then Dean glanced behind himself and grimaced at the witch’s dead body. “We should get out of here.”

    Cas nodded and reluctantly pulled away from Dean. Dean released all of Cas but his hand and they walked out of the witch’s house. They didn’t clean anything up. Let the police wonder. As they walked slowly along the street, the tingling in Cas’s hand reminded him of when he had first gripped Dean, leaving his handprint forever on his soul, even if his body had healed.

    Dean let go of Cas’s hand for a moment so they could both climb into the Impala. Before he had even turned the engine on, Dean reclaimed Cas’s hand. When they got back to the hotel, Dean insisted that Cas lay on the bed with him. Cas kissed him gently until he lost consciousness. Cas watched Dean’s face as he slept and mapped out the freckles that covered it.  

    In the Impala on their way home, Dean didn’t turn on his usual rock music. He just held Cas’s hand and they both watched the sunrise. When Dean would ignore the road in favour of staring at Cas, Cas wouldn’t yell at him about safety. Those seven hours were the most pleasant and peaceful the pair had experienced in years.

    

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like challenging you. The first person who comments with the Dr. Sexy reference will get to request something for me to write (as long as it's not Wincest). Good luck... it's tricky. :)
> 
> Also, would anyone appreciate a Dean POV for this?


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